


The Mistake of the Mailman

by CadomirBane



Series: Written in the Stars [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-18 10:30:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16993350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CadomirBane/pseuds/CadomirBane
Summary: Rey's on-campus university address is 'Box 324 Mulberry St, The Bryant Center.' Ben Solo's address is '324 Mulberry St.' And she keeps getting this poor guy's mail.





	The Mistake of the Mailman

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shewhospeakswiththunder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shewhospeakswiththunder/gifts).



Rey opened her mailbox unit and frowned at the small brown package inside, stuffed against a few envelopes and ads. For a few seconds she thought back over the past week trying to remember any orders she had made...before letting out a long sigh of annoyance.

“Ugh. Not again…” Rey leaned against the wall, rustling a few posters and ads on her shoulder.

This wasn’t the first time this had happened. It was just her luck that her address was almost exactly like the one of a small house down the street from her college campus. To be fair, even she hadn’t noticed the difference at first...until she started getting mail that definitely did not belong to her. Even so, how hard could it be to realize that ‘Box 324 Mulberry St, The Bryant Center’ was  _ not  _ the same as 324 Mulberry Street?

_ Very _ hard, apparently.

Oh, well. She shouldn’t be this annoyed over a little thing. After all it had to be even more annoying for the person whose mail kept arriving late.

Rey grabbed the package and double checked the shipping label. Yep, there was that name again. ‘Ben Solo.’ Whoever that was, she felt bad for him. She had to wonder if the college student who had her mailbox unit last year encountered the same problem.

This October afternoon was unusually cold, but Rey didn’t mind that so much. And she was done with classes for the day anyway, so walking there wouldn’t cut too much out of her day. Just the paper she needed to do. But she was always down for an excuse to procrastinate.

The first time this happened was Rey’s first week at the college. It took her a while to figure out what happened and bring the mail to the correct address, after she walked a quarter of a mile the wrong way down the street. She had knocked on the door, but nobody answered. So she just left it in the mailbox along with a little sticky note explaining why his mail was late. She also left a note for the mailman, but they kept messing up and eventually she decided to just give up and save her sticky notes for people who would actually read them.

After that, most days she didn’t bother knocking and just dropped the mail off for ‘Ben Solo.’ About once every other week she had attempted to knock, but had yet to see his face.

Rey tried not to be too creepy about looking through a stranger’s mail...but after doing this on a very regular basis, it was hard to not just take a quick peek. Ben Solo’s mail, for the most part, did not seem out of the ordinary. Ads for insurance, bills for utilities and internet, sometimes a letter from a bank. Nothing strange about that.

However, Rey also knew this man subscribed to a few magazines. These included  _ Men’s Fitness _ ,  _ GQ _ ,  _ Writer’s Digest _ , and  _ Cycle World _ . So from that, of course, she could deduce that this Ben Solo was in shape, or at least was trying to be, and he dressed well, and he did writing and motorcycling as hobbies. That alone helped paint a picture of a particular sort of man in her head that she...had to admit she did not dislike. She imagined broad shoulders, stylish expensive clothing, a leather jacket, and lots of old books.

She also knew that about once every other week or so, he ordered a hardcover book. Those were the easiest packages to figure out. Rey knew that he ordered from Dollar Shave Club and Toms of Maine, probably on a monthly subscription, but she hadn’t been here long enough to know that for sure.

So on top of everything else, she knew that Ben Solo smelled good and he bought quality toothpaste too. That’s a lot to know about a complete stranger, Rey mused.

And she had not seen any mail about things like hearing aids or retirement so that meant he wasn’t old. So that was a bonus. Nothing was ever addressed to someone of a different name living there, so he wasn’t married or had kids either.

Rey rolled her eyes as she walked down the sidewalk.  _ Don’t be creepy. You’re being creepy right now. _

She walked up to his house. It was small, typical of the kind of houses you see in a quaint college town. A two-story Tudor style home on the corner of the street, with a one-car garage and a little balcony on the second floor. A few succulents plants and flowers were visible where they lined up along an interior window. The mailbox was old, brass beginning to rust, with the faded address name engraved on the side.

Rey was about to shove the package and the  _ GQ  _ magazine inside when she felt a strange, sudden urge to knock again, if only just one more time. She wondered if Ben Solo was home right now. If it would be worth the effort to knock on the door and explain what had been going on since the first week of college. Something in her begged to know what he looked like. Especially based on all the things she already knew about him. She had to know if the image she had been building of him in her head over the past few weeks was true or not.

Before she could talk herself out of it, Rey pressed her thumb hard on the doorbell. Then quickly evaluated what she was wearing - a yellow hoodie two sizes too big, a dark gray beanie, blue jeans ripped at the knees with sunflowers embroidered into the thighs, and black Converse shoes.

_ Could be better, could be worse...why does that even matter?  _ She wondered. She had been standing here several seconds now and still Ben had not answered the door. Rey decided to give up and just shove his things in the mailbox as always. It wouldn’t be the first time he was never home, anyway.

And then, just before she was going to turn around, she saw the old wooden door creak open. A tall, dark-haired man with a piercing gaze emerged into sight. Rey was instantly taken aback at how handsome he was. The first thing she noticed were his soft, honey colored eyes. His face bore a constellation of cute moles and freckles. He was wearing a dark grey wool sweater, black pants, shiny dress shoes, and an analog watch on his left wrist. In a way he was exactly what she had pictured, but at the same time he was nothing like what she had pictured at all.

“Uh, hello?” Ben Solo asked in a soft, low voice. His gaze drifted down to the brown package in her hand and the confusion blinked away in his eyes.

Rey felt that she didn’t really need to explain what was going on. She held it up and gave him a small, awkward smile.

“Uh...hi. I’m Rey.” She waved with her free hand, feeling a little foolish all of a sudden, staring up at this gorgeous guy. “I’m the girl who keeps getting your mail and having to bring it here…? My address is Box 324 Mulberry Street…?”

The tall, dark-haired man gave a slow nod of understanding, like he was putting the past several weeks into context. He too gave her a look like she wasn’t what he had been expecting.

“Oh...yeah, okay. I got your note from a month or so back,” Ben Solo said.

Rey nodded awkwardly. Her ears turned a little red. He really was putting at least two of those magazine subscriptions to use, she thought, and then felt embarrassed for even thinking that.

“Yeah...I’m so, so sorry this keeps happening. I can’t believe the mailman hasn’t figured it out yet,” Rey said, then laughed a little. “Well, anyway, here’s your mail for today!” She held out the small package and the magazine.

The corners of Ben Solo’s mouth lifted as he accepted his mail from her. Rey had to wonder if he was thinking about all the mail she had had to deliver to him, and all that she must know about him as a result. Did he find this encounter as strange as she did? That while they were two strangers meeting for the first time, they knew more about the other than the next stranger never would? Had he wondered about the stranger who kept getting his mail?

“Well, anyway, sorry to bother you. I’ll be on my way.” Rey took a couple steps back.

But before she could turn around, Ben raised his hand.

“Wait. You’ve been delivering my mail the past couple months. At least let me return the favor. I mean...I should be the one who’s apologizing.”

Rey blinked twice at him. And Ben suddenly stammered over his words like he really hadn’t thought this through.

“Would...would you like to come in for a cup of tea to warm up? It’s pretty cold out today,” Ben said. He looked down at this shoes, as if he was feeling just as nervous and strange about this social encounter as she was. “And I feel bad about you having to walk here all the time to drop off my mail.”

“Uh...sure. Tea sounds good to me.” Rey grinned, unable to hide her curiosity at getting to know him on a face-to-face basis.

Ben Solo let her inside. The house looked old but well taken care of, with tall ceilings and dark wood flooring. There were plants on nearly every windowsill. Rey found herself looking around, her eyes locking on a bookcase in the small living room to her right.

It was an odd feeling, to actually be in the house of someone she knew so much about already. Like she had violated his privacy by having to see his mail so many times. No matter how much that hadn’t really been her fault, it revealed things about a person that should be kept just between them and their mailman.

Ben led her to the kitchen, where he filled two strainers with loose tea leaves and placed them in mismatched coffee mugs.

“Milk or honey or both?” he asked her as he stood behind the counter.

Rey didn’t realize she was staring until he spoke, and she cleared her throat.

“Both please. Thank you.” She blushed. She pulled up a stool at the counter and watched as Ben filled a pewter teapot with water and set it on the stove burner.

“How much have you been looking through my mail lately?” Ben asked absently as he poured a bit of milk and honey into Rey’s mug. Rey had to take a moment to wonder how sarcastic he was being, if at all.

“Uh, well...no more than the mailman does, I suppose.” She looked down. “Sorry…”

“Oh, no, I...sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. I really do appreciate that you’ve been bringing me my mail all this time. I feel bad you have to keep doing that.”

“It’s not a problem at all. I really don’t mind. I feel bad your mail keeps arriving late.”

Ben laughed a little, and Rey found herself joining in his laugh. They kept laughing until the water started to boil. Ben poured it in both mugs and stirred them both thoroughly, then slid Rey’s mug over to her. She took it and took a small sip.

“Thank you, Ben.”

“No, thank you.” He smiled and sipped at his tea. “So, you’re a student?”

“Yep. Majoring in Civil Engineering. Freshman year.”

“Oh. Wow. Tough stuff.”

“What, like it’s hard?” Rey said with a small laugh. Then laughed some more when Ben joined her, relieved he caught that  _ Legally Blonde  _ reference. “I mean, it is, but I enjoy it. I really want to become an environmental engineer...help make this planet a healthier, cleaner place to live.”

“That’s pretty incredible.” He stared at her like she was a celebrity or something.

“Thanks…” Rey blushed a bit, then had to internally wonder why. He was just a stranger, so why did his approval matter to her? Why did it feel nice for him to look at her this way?

Well, he wasn’t  _ exactly _ a stranger, was he…?

Ben raised his mug to her.

“Best of luck to you and your education,” he said.

She smiled and they lightly clinked mugs together. She raised it to her lips and suddenly realized she was tasting the best tea of her life.

“Woah, this is really good! So, I’m curious...did this same thing happen last year? With the mail and all?”

“No. I just moved here back in July. I have no idea what the last homeowners did with the address issue, but this place hadn’t been lived in for a while before I came here.” He glanced up at the walls and Rey followed his gaze, now noticing some of the cracks and fading wallpaper. “I still have a lot of work left to do on it...lucky me, my father taught me how to be a decent mechanic and handyman, so it’s not new stuff to me. Just, a lot of it.”

“Oh, gotcha. Good with cars and stuff?” she asked, suddenly picturing him in a dirtied wife beater tank top and tight blue jeans, leaning over the engine of a classic sports car…

“I’m okay at it,” Ben said with a shrug, his eyes temporarily cast to one of the plants he kept at the windowsill. He took a moment to pick up a pitcher that was on the counter and poured a bit of water into the pot. Rey sipped her tea as she watched, and found herself wondering if any of his mail might have given away that he was a grease monkey. Nothing immediately came to mind. She then remembered he had said he just moved here.

“Are you new to the neighborhood?” she asked, genuinely curious.

He nodded as he returned to standing across from her at the counter and he quietly sipped his tea.

“Mhm. I’m from New York, actually. Came here to make a fresh start. I still really haven’t made any friends here yet.”

“I’m new here too. Moved across country to start school here.” She looked down at her mug of tea. “I like this town a lot but it’s a little lonely sometimes, you know? Not knowing the best places to eat or where everyone goes to on a Friday night?”

“I understand that feeling.” He gave her a small smile.

“Maybe we--” Rey stopped herself and sipped her tea, embarrassed. “Never mind.”

“No, what?”

“I was just going to say we could find the nice places to eat together, but forget it, it’s okay.” She couldn’t bear to look at him. She had said way too much. Forgot that to him she was just a complete stranger, and he had not seen any of her mail and had the chance to glance through it. He had no idea of the number of bills she got, the letters from the biologicals back home that she kept ignoring, knowing they were full of guilt tripping and telling her she’d better come home soon or she wouldn’t be invited back for the holidays, the numbers of ‘kawaii’ stickers and plushies she ordered from Japanese online stores…

“That sounds nice..” Ben’s warm, soft tone cut off her train of thought.

“What?”

“I said that would be okay with me. If we explored the city together, I mean.” He looked down at his cup of tea and held it in both hands but wasn’t drinking from it. “It’s hard to find someone who’s new here too. I get feeling alone here, is what I mean to say.”

Rey couldn’t help but stare at him. She was really falling for those long, dark locks of hair. Those eyes the color of honey. His strong shoulders and big hands and the way he dressed and whatever cologne he was wearing. She was in real trouble...

“Oh. Well...okay. Sure. That sounds neat.”

_ He’s from New York, he just moved here, he’s a mechanic and a handyman  _ and _ he makes good tea,  _ Rey thought.  _ Whatever Fates gave the near exact address as him, I owe you. Big time. _

They had a few minutes of peaceful silence as they sipped their tea, both clearly processing the information exchanged about each other so far on their own. There was no sound but that of an old clock in the other room ticking, the hum of the radiator, and the bit of traffic outside. Rey watched how his lips folded over the rim of the mug, then had to look away again. In the corner of her vision she could see the time on Ben’s watch, and thought with dismay of how much time she had left in the day. Wishing she didn’t have to, Rey set down her mug and cleared her throat.

“Well, uh...this was real nice but I do have a paper that’s due tomorrow that I haven’t really started yet.”

Ben stood up straight at that.

“Oh, sure. Yeah, if you need to get going…” He walked around the counter and, like a true gentleman, led her to the front door. She felt his hand on the small of her back and her breath left her lungs for just a small moment.

“Thanks again for the tea!” Rey said with a small wave as she stepped outside. She looked back and saw him leaning against the doorway.

“Oh, I forgot to say...if it’s too much time out of your day to bring my mail here all the time, you could just gather it up and send it here, say, a couple times a week?”

“It’s really no problem. I’ll write to the post office again and see if they can fix this. Don’t need you waiting that long for your mail!”

“Sure, well...thank you, again. Take care.” Ben raised his hand and gave a small wave.

Rey waved again as she set off, her head a swarm and her heart pounding.

 

* * *

 

Two days later, yet again, Rey’s box received mail addressed to Ben Solo at 324 Mulberry Street.

Except this time, it was just one letter.

And the address to whom it was for said simply:  _ Rey _ .

Blushing deeply, Rey tore the envelope open and pulled out a handwritten note on tan bond paper.

 

> _ Rey: _
> 
> _ I like you. Would you like to get dinner sometime? I heard that Maz’s Pub just three blocks down has really good burgers, but I haven’t tried them yet. _
> 
> _ My treat, for you delivering my mail all this time. _
> 
> _ -Ben _

 

Her cheeks turned deep red. Did this handsome, classy guy really want to have dinner with her? He... _ liked  _ her?

She clasped the little letter to her chest and thought for a few minutes, of how thanks to the mistake of the mailman, two lonely souls in the city had crossed paths. If Ben’s mail never ended up at hers that many times she never would have found someone else who was new to the city like her. Her mind traced everything she already knew about Ben, along with all the gaps of what she would like to know about him. And of course, the things about herself she’d like to talk with about him.

Rey rushed back into her apartment to grab some paper and an envelope and wrote a note back in her nicest, cutest handwriting possible. In her note she told Ben she was free this Saturday. While she thought the handwritten letter idea was  _ adorable _ , she ended up including her phone number in the note just for convenience’s sake, telling him to just text her a time on Saturday that worked for when she could stop by his house.

With that, Rey took yet another brisk walk to Ben Solo’s house, and she stuck the letter in his mailbox, thinking of the man who would be reading it very soon. She could not wait to see him again.


End file.
